Mike's Mission: Mike's Farewell Talk

Mike's farewell talk was on January 9, 2011. He has a lot of friends and family who attended. Mike appreciated all of you for taking the time to come and here him speak and staying to visit with him. For those of you who would like to have been to Mike's farewell talk but missed it, here is a copy of his talk.

Good morning, I got to admit, I didn't really ever think I would be old enough to stand up here and be giving a farewell talk and preparing to serve a mission. When I was little I always new I wanted to serve a mission. And I got to watch as my older brother, Nate, went on his mission and came back with all these cool stories and experiences that he had, and that just helped strengthen me in wanting to serve a mission. I just never really thought I would reach the age necessary to go. And now it is here, and I must say, that I am very excited to go serve in the Bahia Blanca mission in Argentina.

Riley Salmon and Mike

This probably wont come as a huge surprise, but I am going to talk today about missionary work. I am going to talk from a soon to be full time missionary perspective, but these things can apply to everyone, especially when Every member is a missionary.

The purpose of a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy
Ghost, and enduring to the end.

As we try to find and teach people the gospel, it is important to keep in mind that we are trying to help them build a testimony of the Gospel. We especially need to build there testimony of the Book of Mormon. Fortunately we all have help from the Spirit. As we teach the Gospel the Spirit will be with us to:

Teach you new truths and bring doctrines you have studied to your remembrance
Give you words to speak in the moment you need them
Carry your message to the hearts of the people
Testify of the truthfulness of your message and confirm your words
Help you discern the needs of the people you are teaching

In order for us to have the spirit with us to teach though, we need to make sure we are worthy of it, and prepare for it.

D&C 11:21 says: "Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men."

We Need to understand the Gospel. We need to understand the scripture, so that the Spirit can be with us and bring into our remembrance scriptures we might need, or maybe an insight that might help an investigator. This is one reason why it is important to listen in seminary and Sunday school classes.

There are several thing that I recommend doing to prepare physically and spiritually for your mission. As a missionary we may be asked to bike or walk consistently for miles every day. We should treat our bodies well before the mission so that we can be prepared to do this. I would recommend getting in some sort of shape before you head out for the mission.

We should also try to live the same kind of schedule as the missionaries do. Getting up at 6:30 and going to bed at 10:30. I know this is not an easy schedule but we should have a few weeks before our missions where we try to do this so its not such a shock to our systems when we start.

Another idea to help missionaries prepare is if they are going to a country that speaks a foreign Language, they should start preparing. I am going to a Spanish Speaking country and I have started to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish. It is difficult, but is has also strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Scripture study, especially of the Book of Mormon is necessary for a missionary. As a missionary we need to know the scriptures well. So the spirit can help guide us.

Aaron Page, Riley Salmon, Todd Taylor & Mike

One of the MOST important scriptures we could ever memorize will the the first vision. In my mission preparation class that I took at BYU-I we were told to prepare a lesson of the first vision. I prepared one, just like almost every other kid did. But there were three of four kids who memorized the first vision, and there lessons were by far the most spiritual and effective lesson in our class.

Another important thing to do is to study Preach My Gospel. The book was inspired to help missionaries effectively teach people about the Gospel. It has scriptures and quotes that can help you to understand the basic principles of the Gospel better. As I have started studying it to help prepare me for my mission, I have learned much about the Gospel.

Another thing that is important for missionaries to know is that as frustrating as mission can get you just have to keep going.

I have a story here about a missionary who converted one man, and thought he was a failure.

When I was president of the Southern States mission I had each missionary come into the office before he was released. One day a young man can in and I asked "What have you accomplished?"

"Nothing" he said. "I am going home."

"What do you mean you have accomplished nothing?"

"Well," he said "I baptized one man in the backwoods of Tennessee. I think it was Tennessee. He didn't Know enough or have enough sense to wear shoes. And that's all I have done. I have wasted my time and my father's money. And I am going home."

I later checked on that man. The sense of failure with which that boy went home disturbed me, and I wanted to find out what had happened to the man he had baptized. I found he had been ordained a deacon and had some assignments in the branch where he lived. Later he was ordained and elder and was given further responsibilities. He moved away from the tenant farm on which he had live and bought a little piece of ground of his own. Still later he was made Branch President. Eventually he sold his farm, moved to Idaho and purchased a farm there. He reared his family. His sons and daughters went on missions, as did there sons and daughters. I have just completed a survey, which indicates according to the information I can find that over 1100 people have come into the church as a result of the baptism of that one man by a missionary who thought he had failed.

As a Missionary success is measured by your commitment to find, teach, baptized, and confirm people and to help them become faithful members of the church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost. As a missionary you never know what kind of impact you will have on the people around you. Some people you meet just might not be ready for the gospel yet. And you may have planted a seed that another missionary could use.

You will know if you are a successful missionary when you:

Feel the spirit testify to people through you
Love people and desire their salvation
Obey with exactness
Live so that you can receive and know how to follow the spirit who will show you where to go, what to do and what to say.
Develop Christ Like Attributes
Work effectively every day, do your very best to bring people to Christ and seed earnestly to learn and improve
Help build up the church wherever your are assigned to work
Warn people of the consequences of sin. Invite them to make and keep commitments
Teach and serve other missionaries
Go about doing good and serving people at every opportunity whether or not they accept your message.

Mike, Zack Zorn, Aaron Page & Paige Hanny

Throughout the scriptures we are given examples of many great missionaries. Ammon and the sons of Mosiah who converted thousand of Lamanites.

Samuel the Lamanite who stood upon the wall and preached even though arrows were being shot at him.

Abinadi who was willing to preach and stand up for that he believed in even though death was right in front of him.

All of these men were great missionaries. Willing to serve the Lord where he wanted them to go. Despite adversity and trails they all continued to work hard.

All of these men were called of God to preach the Gospel.

I would like to share a story from Elder Ronald A. Rasband's talk in the April 2010 General Conference

I would like to relate to you an experience, very special to me, which I had with Henry B. Eyring several years ago when he was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Each apostle holds the keys of the kingdom and exercises them at the direction and assignment of the President of the Church. Elder Eyring was assigning missionaries to the fields of labor, and as part of my training I was invited to observe.

Candice Merrill, Mike, Sarah Merrill

I joined Elder Eyring early one morning in a room where several large computer screens had been prepared for the session. There was also a staff member from the Missionary Department who had been assigned to assist us that day.

First, we knelt together in prayer. I remember Elder Eyring using very sincere words, asking the Lord to bless him to know "perfectly" where the missionaries should be assigned. The word "perfectly" said much about the faith that Elder Eyring exhibited that day.

As the process began, a picture of the missionary to be assigned would come up on one of the computer screens. As each picture appeared, to me it was as if the missionary were in the room with us. Elder Eyring would then greet the missionary with his kind and endearing voice: "Good morning, Elder Reier or Sister Yang. How are you today?"

He told me that in his own mind he liked to think of where the missionaries would conclude there mission. This would ad him to know where they were to be assigned. Elder Eyring would then study the comments from the bishop and stake presidents, medical notes, and other issues relating to each missionary.

Holly Obray , Jenny Campbell & Scott Obray

He then referred to another screen which displayed areas and missions across the world. Finally, as he was prompted by the Spirit, he would assign the missionary to his or her field of labor.

From others of the Twelve, I have learned that this general method is typical each week as Apostles of the Lord assign scores of missionaries to serve throughout the world.

Having served as a missionary in my own country in the Eastern States Mission a number of years ago, I was deeply moved by this experience. Also, having served as a mission president, I was grateful for a further witness in my heart that the missionaries I had received in New York City were sent to me by revelation.

A couple of other times as the process moved along, Elder Eyring would turn to me and say, "Well, Brother Rasband, where do you feel this missionary should go?" I would name a particular mission, and Elder Eyering would look at me thoughtfully and say, "No, that's not it!" He would then continue to assign the missionaries where he had felt prompted.

As we were nearing the completion of that assignment meeting, a picture of a certain missionary appeared on the screen. I had the strongest prompting, the strongest of the morning, that the missionary we had before us was to be assigned to Japan. I did not know that Elder Eyring was going to ask me on this one, but amazingly he did. I rather tentatively and humbly said to him, "Japan?" Elder Eyring responded immediately, "Yes, let's go there" And up on the computer screen the missions of Japan appeared. I instantly knew that the missionary was going to the Japan Sapporo Mission.

Mike and Sarah Merrill

Elder Eyring did not ask me the exact name of the mission, but he did assign that missionary to the Japan Sapporo Mission.

Privately in my heart I was deeply touched and sincerely grateful to the Lord for allowing me to experience the prompting to know where that missionary should go.

At the end of the meeting Elder Eyring bore his witness to me of the love of the Savior, which He has for each missionary assigned to go out into the world and preach the restored gospel. he said that it is by the great love of the Savior that His servants know where these wonderful young men and women, senior missionaries, and senior couples missionaries are to serve. I had a further witness that morning that every missionary called in this Church, and assigned or reassigned to a particular mission, is called by revelation from the Lord God almighty through on of these, His servants.

I am grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to serve a mission in Argentina. I Know what my call is from God. After I had opened my call and read where i was going, the Spirit bore witness to me that this is the place I should go and that this mission was right for me.

Hanna Treu, Mike, Jessica Hart

I encourage every young man to pray and discover if they should serve a mission. I can promise that the Spirit will tell you that you should serve.

I would like to bear my testimony. I know this gospel is true. I know Christ is my savior and through the power of his atonement I can live with my Father in Heaven once again. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, and restored the gospel to the earth. I know he translated the Book of Mormon which is a book that was written for us. I know we have a living prophet today, and I am thankful that God restored the Church and that I can be a part of it.

Some of Mike's friends and family some time visiting at our house after church. Here are some of the picture.

Blane Juber, ?, Candice Merrill, Sara Merrill, Mike, Mike Hoover, Loren Anderson, Spencer Horman, Paige Hanny

Half of Zack Zorn, Sara Merrill, Brandon Herrington , Mykel Thomson, Mike, Morgan Wilson, Aaron Capener, Aaron Page, Spencer Horman, Mike Hoover , Loren Anderson